CHESTER, Pa. ­­– The No. 11 Stevenson men's volleyball team (17-7, 7-1 MAC) swept Widener 3-0 (5-10, 1-7 MAC) before falling to No. 6 Stevens (21-3, 8-0 MAC) 3-1 in a MAC conference tri-match Saturday afternoon at the Schwartz Center.

Game 1 vs Widener

Set scores vs Widener were 26-24, 25-21 and 25-21.

Stevenson stormed to a 15-6 lead in the first set on a six-point streak which included kills from Elliot De La Torre, Tim Flanagan and a pair of kills from Aleks Melbardis. The Pride responded by taking the next 12 of 15 points to notch the set at 18 a-piece.

The sides traded three-point streaks to a 21-21 tie before trading point for point to a 24-24 tie. Tim Flanagan broke the tie with a kill before Michael Dougherty sealed the set for the Mustangs with an ace at 26-24.

The second set was also tightly contested until Ryan Thennel sent over a service ace to give the Mustangs an 8-7 lead. Stevenson then embarked on a 6-2 run to take a 14-9 advantage. De La Torre sent down a kill on the run while Tanner Stauffer added a service ace.

The Pride pulled within one at the 20-19 mark but the Mustangs gained separation with a four-point run which saw kills from Melbardis and Tim Flanagan and another service ace from Dougherty. Melbardis swung down a kill to seal the frame for Stevenson at 25-21.

In the final frame of the set Widenere roared to a 12-15 lead. The Mustangs stung back with a three-point streak to notch the set at 15 a-piece, taking advantage of Widener attack errors. The sides traded points to the 18-18 mark before a three-point rally gave the Mustangs all the separation they needed with yet another service ace from Michael Dougherty to a 21-18 lead. The Mustangs finished the frame on a 4-2 run to take the set 25-21.

Game 2 vs #6 Stevens

Set scores vs Stevens were 20-25, 23-25, 25-22 and 21-25.

Stevenson took an early lead, stretching the advantage to as far as 7-4 before the Ducks battled back to tie the set at 7. The Mustangs regained their lead on a kill from Tim Flanagan at the 10-8 mark but the Ducks notched the frame at 10 a-piece.

The two sides traded points through the 15-15 mark before Melbardis sent home a kill followed by am Aidan O'Brien block to leverage a 17-15 lead. The Ducks rattled off the next four points to take a 17-19 lead and never relinquished the advantage. Stevenson dropped the first set 20-25.

In the second set, the two teams traded runs through the first half of the frame to the 10-10 mark. A five-point streak which saw solo blocks from Aidan O'Brien and Tanner Stauffer as well as two aces from Tim Flanagan gave the Mustangs a 14-11 advantage.

Stevenson leveraged their lead to 20-15 with a four-point run that included two aces from Stauffer. However, Stevens roared back to tie the set at 21-21 with a six-point rally. The Mustangs and Ducks traded points to a 23-23 tie but a kill from Stevens and attack error by the Mustangs sent the frame to the Ducks.

The Mustangs continued to serve well in the third set taking a 7-4 lead with aces from Michael Dougherty and Aleks Melbardis. The Mustangs leveraged an 11-7 lead before attack errors caused the frame to tie at 12-12.

The Mustangs gained separation with a kill from Tanner Stauffer at the 19-17 mark. Stevens knotted the set at 21-21 before the Mustangs rattled off a 4-1 run with kills from Flanagan and O'Brien to take the third set at 25-22.

The two sides continued their battle into the fourth frame with neither team gaining an real separation from their opponent. Tim Flanagan added a kill to take a 14-12 lead before the Ducks took the lead back at 14-16 with a four-point rally. The Mustangs knotted the frame at 18 a-piece and again at 20 a-piece on a kill from Tanner Stauffer. Stevens rattled off a 5-1 streak to take the fourth set 21-25.

Numbers and Notes

• Michael Dougherty and Tanner Stauffer each notched five service aces on the day while Tim Flanagan tallied four.
• Flanagan and Stauffer sent home 13 kills each against #6 Stevens.
• Mason Scott had 18 digs on the afternoon, with 10 against Widener and eight against Stevens.
• Elliot De La Toree and Aleks Melbardis each notched four blocks against #6 Stevens.

What's Next

• Stevenson returns home to face Messiah on Wednesday, March 23 at 7pm.